Florida Journalism History Project

The central role played by newspapers and other mass media in the development of the state of Florida is a long and wide-ranging story, with a history stretching back as far as the late 18th century. Each successive generation of journalists has reported that “first draft of history” which has become a valuable historical record of the state. The history of the fourth estate in Florida provides a glimpse into the people and events that had, and continue to have, an enormous influence on the development of the state. (more about the project…)

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Send suggestions and comments to: pjr@uflib.ufl.edu 

Provides a searchable database of newspaper pages from 1900-1910 along with information about American newspapers published between 1690-present.  Sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress as part of the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP). Florida newspapers currently available include; The Champion (Arcadia), Deland News, The Deland Weekly News, The DeSoto County News, The Florida Agriculturalist, Fort Pierce News, Gainesville Daily Sun, The Gainesville Star, Gulf Coast Breeze (Crawfordville), The New Enterprise (Madison), The Pensacola Journal, The Punta Gorda Herald and The St. Lucie County Tribune.

A conference paper presented to the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). Outlines the development of the VDT, which was spearheaded by the Daytona Beach News Journal and Cocoa Today newspapers.

“Florida Journalism During The Civil War” by Horance G. Davis, Jr.

A collaborative project led by the University of Florida Digital Library Center which provides searchable digitized page images of many Florida Newspapers. For more information on the National Digital Newspaper Project and the Florida Digital Newspaper Library go here.

“Ink In The Sand: The First 50 Years of the Florida Press Association, 1879-1929” by John Paul Jones

“In Righteous Dissent: A Profile of Southern Reformer Buddy Davis” by Ann Wayne Mikell. 

Digitized images of The Palm Beach Post, The Palm Beach Daily News, the Miami News, The (Palm Beach) Tropical Sun and The Palm Beach Independent. Spans the years 1897 through 1988.

“Scholastic Journalism in the Sunshine State: The History of the Florida Scholastic Press Association, 1946-1996”by Judy Robinson and edited by Julie Dodd
Originally written as a masters thesis and later published. Details the history of the Florida Scholastic Press Association. Note: Full text of preface, introduction, acknowledgements and FSPA history through the early 1950's available here. To purchase the book contact Professor Julie Dodd, College of Journalism and Communications, University of Florida. Phone: (352) 392-0452 E-mail:jdodd@jou.ufl.edu.

Sarasota Herald-Tribune (Google Historical News Archive)

Coverage back to 1930 with digitized page images.

Coverage back to 1920 with digitized page images.

“The Tribune’s First Woman Reporter” by Lucy Fulghum O’Brien

Florida newspapers include: Florida Gazette, Floridian & Journal, Pensacola Gazette, Pensacola Gazette and Florida Advertiser,Pensacola Gazette and West Florida Advertiser, The Floridian, Floridian & Advocate, The Floridian & Journal, Florida Union.                                                                                     

Organized into a five part series titled Early American Newspapers. Florida newspapers include: Bradenton Herald and predecessors (Series II and III), East Florida Herald (Series IV), Florida Herald and Southern Democrat (Series V), Floridian (Series II), Floridian & Journal (Series III), Miami Herald and its predecessors (Series III).

Arsenault, Raymond O. St. Petersburg and the Florida Dream, 1888-1950. 2nd ed. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 1998.

Baker, Rick. Mangroves to Major League. St. Petersburg: Southern Heritage Press, 2000.

Black Press in the South, 1865-1979. Greenwood Press, 1983. 468 p. (Chapter 3 on Florida pgs. 91-118, incl. end notes.

Buchanan, Edna. The Corpse Had a Familiar Face: Covering Miami, America's Hottest Beat. Random House, 1987.

Burt, Al. Al Burt's Florida: Snowbirds, Sandcastles, and Self-Rising Crackers. University of Florida Press, 1997.

Clark, Roy Peter and Raymond Arsenault, eds. The Changing South of Gene Patterson. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2002.

Davis, Edward Drake. A Half Century of Struggle for Freedom in Florida. Drakes Publishing, 1981.

Ensley, Gerald. Tallahassee Democrat: 100 Years. Tallahassee Democrat, 2005.

Fisher, Roy M. The Trial of the First Amendment: Miami Herald vs. Tornillo. Freedom of Information Center, 1975.

Gordon, Julius. Index, Florida Peninsular: An Independent Weekly Newspaper, 1855-1871. Julius J. Gordon, 1992.

--. Index, Sunland Tribune and Tampa Guardian: Weekly Newspapers, 1877-1886. Julius J. Gordon, 1992.

Graham, Thomas. Charles H. Jones: Journalist and Politician of the Gilded Age. University of Florida Press, 1990.

Harrison, S.L. Florida's Editorial Cartoonists. Sarasota: Pineapple Press, 1996.

Hooker, Robert. 100 Years of the St. Petersburg Times, July 25, 1884 to July 25, 1984: The Times and its Times. Times Publishing Co., 1984.

Johnson, Malcom B. I Declare! A Collection of Editorial Commentaries by Malcolm B. Johnson. Tallahassee Democrat, 1983.

Klinkenberg, Jeff. Seasons of Real Florida. University of Florida Press, 2004.

Knauss, James Owen. Territorial Florida Journalism. Florida State Historical Society, 1926.

Maxwell, Bill. Maximum Insight. University of Florida Press, 2001.

Merzer, Martin, ed. The Miami Herald Report: Democracy Held Hostage. St. Martin's Press, 2001.

Museum of Florida History. Political Cartooning in Florida. Tallahassee: Florida Department of State, 1987.

Orrick, Bentley and Harry L. Crumpacker. The Tampa Tribune: A Century of Florida Journalism. Tampa: University of Tampa Press, 1998.

Pierce, Robert N. A Sacred Trust: Nelson Poynter and the St. Petersburg Times. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 1993.

Pleasants, Julian M. Orange Journalism. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2003.

Powell, E.D. and Paul Douglas, Eva Bacon. Mass Communication in Florida. Rollins College Center for Practical Politics, 1965.

Reno, Jane Wood, and George Hurchalla, ed. The Hell with Politics: The Life and Writings of Jane Wood Reno. Peachtree Publishers, 1994.

Rice, Steve and Roman Lyskowski, eds. The Big One: Hurricane Andrew. Andrews and McMeel, 1992.

St. Petersburg Times. World War II Remembered, 1939-1945. Historical Briefs, Inc., 1991.

Smiley, Nixon. Knights of the Fourth Estate: The Story of the Miami Herald. E.A. Seemann Publishing, 1974.

--. The Miami Herald Front Pages, 1903-1983. H.N. Abrams, 1983.

The Tampa Tribune. A Century of News: Famous Front Pages from The Tampa Tribune, 1895-1995. The Tampa Tribune, 1995.

Tucksood, Jan, ed. Hurricane Andrew: Images from the Killer Storm/The Palm Beach Post. Longstreet Press, 1992.

Wallace, Aurora. Newspapers and the Making of Modern America: A History. Greenwood Press, 2005. (Chapter 5: Florida in Chains: The Miami Herald and the Tampa Tribune)

Whited, Charles. Knight: A Publisher in the Tumultuous Century. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1988.

2000's

Bortolus, Jennifer Inge. “Fighting for Others: Peggy M. Peterman’s 31 Years at the St. Petersburg Times.” M.A. Thesis, University of South Florida, 2000.

Glover, Joseph L. “Community Journalism Then and Now: A Comparison of Community-Minded Broadcasters of the 1960's and the 1990's.” Doctoral Dissertation, University of Florida, 2000.

Gongora, Eileen. “Use of Computer-Assisted Reporting in Florida Newspapers With a Circulation of 20,000 and Below.” M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 2000.

1990's

Barnes, Gregory. “Newspaper Bias in the 1994 Florida Gubernatorial Campaign: An Analysis of Coverage from Two Florida Daily Newspapers.” M.A. Thesis, Florida Atlantic University, 1997.

Bellew, Bonnie L. “The Role of Design in the Newspaper Redesign of the Boca Raton News: the Knight-Ridder 25/43 Project.” M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1991.

Bouchard, Connie M. “The Gainesville Slayings: A Case Study of Murder, Mayhem and Media Responsibility.” M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1992.

Catanzarite, Denise Rosa. “Newspaper Reader Satisfaction: A Preliminary Study of the Local Public’s Perceived Right to Know.”M.A. Thesis, University of South Florida, 1992.

Crawford, Denis M. “The Comic Agony of Defeat: A Rhetorical Analysis of the St. Petersburg Times Coverage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.” M.A. Thesis, Florida State University, 1997.

Dalton, Thomas Maheu. “Public Records: Implementation of Statutory Extensive Use Fees in Two Florida Counties.” M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1990.

Dorian, Robert L. “Coverage of High-Profile Criminal Trials: A Comparison of News Coverage by The Tampa Tribune and the St. Petersburg Times.” M.A. Thesis, University of South Florida, 1998.

Eisenstein, Phillip L. “The Public’s and Practitioners’ Perceptions of Newspaper Photo Policies.” M.A. Thesis, University of South Florida, 1992.

Harwell, Sharon Worcester. “The Battle for the Bay: A Case Study of the St. Petersburg Times' Move into Tampa Tribune Territory.”M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1992.

Kasper, Valerie E. “Coverage of the 1993 St. Petersburg Mayoral Election: A Comparison of The Tampa Tribune and the St. Petersburg Times.” M.A. Thesis, University of South Florida, 1995.

Kenney, Richard J. “The Times Ombudsman: An Historical Case Study and Trend Analysis.” M.A. Thesis, University of South Florida, 1994.

Mara, Janis. “A Study of Online Newspapers: Sun.ONE, Gainesville, Florida.” M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1998.

Martinez, Dale. “Newspaper Execution Publicity and Homicide Rates: A Miami Herald, Dade County, Florida Study.” M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1997.

McClenahan, Heather Reed. “Florida in Black and White: Newspapers, Race, and the 1968 U.S. Senate Campaign.” M.A. Thesis, University of South Florida, 1994.

Mikell, Ann Wayne. “In Righteous Dissent: A Profile of Southern Reformer H.G. Buddy Davis.” M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1990. (bodytxt: see link to full text on “Full Text Resources” page)

Nelson, Dina C. “A Study of the Sections in Five Florida Newspapers Intended for Adolescent Readers.” M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1993.

Roush, Christopher S. “An Exploratory Case Study Using Documented Reporting Practices to Determine the Applicability of Journalism Ethics Codes: The Miami Herald-Gary Hart Case.” M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1990.

Thomson, H. Bailey. “Martin Andersen and the Rise of Modern Orlando.” Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Alabama, 1994.

Varner, Teresa R.“Environmental Afganistanism vs. Parochialism: The Florida Times-Union and The Orlando Sentinel.” M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1993.

Williams, Susan W. “The Florida Mirror’s Editorial Promotion of Tourism and Settlement in the State Under Major George R. Fairbanks, Editor, 1880-1886.” M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1991.

1980's

Bobbit, William. “R. Wallace Fisher Stovall of the Tampa Tribune, 1893-1925.” M.A. Thesis, University of South Florida, 1989.

Coulson, David Charles. “Nelson Poynter: Study of and Independent Publisher and his Standards of Ownership.” M.A. Thesis, University of Minnesota, 1982.

Fleischman, Thomas. “Image and Reality: Perceptions of Early Black Miami by the Miami Metropolis, 1896-1900.” M.A. Thesis, University of Miami, 1988

Holden, Rosemary. “Assessing Business/Media Attitudes: Florida’s Phosphate Industry and Florida Newspapers.” M.A. Thesis, University of South Florida, 1983.

Levy, Thomas Hugh. “The Survival of Sunday Newspaper Magazines in Florida.” M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1987.

Wolfe, Deborah Pam. “Newspaper Use of Computer Databases and Guidelines for Access: A Case Study: The St. Petersburg Times.”M.A. Thesis, University of South Florida, 1989.

1970's

Anderson, Kenneth Edwin. “The American Eagle: A Unique Florida Weekly Paper.” M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1970.

Birch, Colleen J. “Two Florida Dailies’ Treatment of Candidates During the Democratic Senate Primary of 1950: A Content Analysis of the Tampa Tribune and the St. Petersburg Times.” M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1974.

Chabot, Harvey Robert. “Photographer’s Ethics in Ten Photojournalism Situations as Judged by Three Types of Florida Daily Newspaper News Managers.” M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1974.

Graham, Thomas Sentell. “Charles H. Jones 1848-1913: Editor and Progressive Democrat.” Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Florida, 1973.

Hesser, Frances Snider. “A Panel of Gainesville Sun Readers’ Attitudes and Knowledge About the Juvenile Court Before and After Unsolicited Exposure to a Series of Published Articles.” M.A., University of Florida, 1973.

Johnson, Edward L. “V.M. Newton Jr. and the Genesis of Investigative Reporting of Florida Government.” M.A., University of Florida, 1972.

Maittlen-Harris, John P. “Newsman's Searchlight: Florida Sunshine Law.” M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1979.

Malloy, John Rogers. “A History of the Sentinel Star.” M.A. Thesis, FTU (University of Central Florida), 1977.

Manassah, Edward E. “A Study of Recruiting, Training and Employee Retention in Advertising, Business and Editorial Departments of Selected Daily Newspapers in the State of Florida.” M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1971.

O’Hara, Thomas Patrick. “Readership Awareness of Florida’s Newspaper Sports Gatekeepers.” M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1974.

O’Keefe, Lawrence John. “Reporter Socialization on Daily Newspapers in Florida.” M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1973.

Peltier, Donna M. “The Standards for Ownership: Nelson Poynter's Manifesto.” M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1975.

Ritter, Charles F. “The Press in Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina and the End of Reconstruction, 1865-1877: Southern Men and Northern Interests.” Ph.D. Dissertation, Catholic University of America, 1976.

Ruffner, Michael Ross. “Analysis of Agricultural News Content Preferences of Florida Newspaper Editors and Selected Florida Readers.” M.A. Thesis, 1975.

Shelton, Richard Dudley. “A Critical Analysis of How Selected Florida Newspapers Reported the Bay of Pigs Invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis.” M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1971.

Sneed, Jean Jarvis. “The Florida Newspaper Woman of 1970.” M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1970.

St. Dizier, Byron John. “Confidential News Sources and the Florida Newspaper Reporter.” M.A., University of Florida, 1974.

Stambaugh, Helen Huntley. “The Editorial Influence of the St. Petersburg Times and Independent on Elections in Pinellas County, Florida.” M.A. Thesis, University of South Florida, 1978.

Twigg, Cornia Mae. “Editor John D. Pennekamp: Herald of Change.” M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1977.

Van Pelt, Allison. “A Critical Study of the State and Manifest Functions of Noel Holston: Television Critic of the Orlando Sentinel.”M.A. Thesis, Florida Technological University, 1976.

Watson, Gary Lee. “The Supplementary Press: Self-Perceived Roles of Community and Suburban Newspapers in Florida.” M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1970.

Whitaker, Joel. “How the St. Petersburg Times Won the Pulitzer Prize.” M.A. Thesis, Indiana University, 1970.

Wilkinson, Patricia Walker. “Survey of Problems of the Newspaper Industry in Florida.” M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1971.

Yeaton, Barbara Thompson. “Frank Mayes, a Southern Progressive Editor, 1899-1915.” M.A. Thesis, University of West Florida, 1972.

1960's

Ashdown, Paul George. “An Historical Study of Florida Journalism and the Great Depression.” M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1969.

Chance, Jean Carver. “Sidney J. Catts and The Press: A Study of the Editorial Coverage of the 1916 Governor’s Race by Selected Florida Newspapers.” M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1969.

Fullmer, Thomas Melville. “A Critical Analysis of How Selected Florida Newspapers Reported the Cuban Revolution.” M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1965.

Graham, Thomas Sentell. “Ante-bellum Tallahassee Newspapers, 1845-1861.” M.A. Thesis, Florida State University, 1967.

Green, Thomas L. “Criticism and Local References in Florida Television and Newspaper Editorials.” M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1967.

Hammock, James A. “Newspaper Management: A Study of the Problems Involved in the Conversion of Two Selected Daily Newspapers From Six-to Seven-Day Publication.” M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1968.

Jeffers, Dennis Willard. “An Analysis of Florida Land Boom Content in Two Miami Daily Newspapers From 1924 Through 1926.”M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1968.

Krughoff, Gretchen Elise. “The Use of Photographs in Florida Weekly Newspapers.” M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1964.

Marconi, Frank Robert.“Anticipated Editorial Employee Demand and Qualifications Among Sixteen Selected Daily Newspapers Through 1980.” M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1967.

May, Kenneth Robert. “A Study of Pre-Trial Reporting in Selected Florida Newspapers Published in 1965-66.” M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1968.

Meade, Patricia (Bassett). “The Early Newspapers in Alachua County, Florida.” M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1969.

Meurlott, K.B. “How Florida Newspapers Used Agricultural News Releases From the University of Florida from August 1, 1963 to January 31, 1965.” M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1966.

Ostrom, Gary William. “An Examination of the Basis of the Charges Against The Florida Alligator: A Content Analysis”. M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1967.

Sarrett, Sylvia McGinity. “A Rhetorical Analysis of Editorials of the Tampa Tribune on the Crisis in Public Education, February 16, 1968 to March 8, 1968.” M.A. Thesis, University of South Florida, 1969.

Seddon, William George. “A Content Analysis of the News Coverage of the 1968 Presidential Campaign by Florida Daily Newspapers.” M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1969.

Turpin, William Howard. “Attitudes of Jacksonville Subscribers Toward News and Editorial Policies of The Florida Times-Union.”M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1969.

White, King D. “Employment Practices on Selected Florida Dailies.” M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1968.

1950's

Boiler, William Fred, Jr. “A Study of the Reporting and Interpreting of the League of Nations by a Selected Group of Florida Newspapers.” M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1958.

Buckley, Frank Wilson. “A Comparative Content Analysis on Nine Prize Winning Florida Weekly Newspapers.” M.A. Thesis, Florida State University, 1955.

Copeland, Harry Clay. “The Development of Panama City and its Newspaper.” M.A. Thesis, Florida State University, 1956.

Davis, Horance Gibbs. “Florida Journalism During the Civil War.” M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1952. (bodytxt: see link to full-text on “Full Text Resources” page)

Dutchak, Eugene M. “Florida Press and the 1952 Presidential Campaign.” M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1955.

Griffith, Leon Odell. “John Holliday Perry: American Press Lord.” M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1954.

Merritt, Mary Louise. “A History of The Miami Herald.” M.A. Thesis, University of Georgia, 1951.

Sims, Leonard Henderson. “A Study of the Florida Press During the Reconstruction Years 1865-1870.” M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1958.

Sommerkamp, Theo Enoch. “Coverage of Church and Religious News By the Daily Press and Radio Stations in Tallahassee, Florida, in 1952.” M.A. Thesis, Florida State University, 1954.

Sperring, Foy Carroll. “A Study of the Readership Surveys of Weekly Newspapers, With Emphasis on Bradford County Telegraph.”M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1958.

Wellborn, Charles Griffis. “Treatment of the Spanish-American War by Selected Florida Newspapers.” M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1958.

Webb, Martha Gwendolyn. “Ten Years of Florida Journalism from 1920 to 1930 with Special Emphasis on the Land Boom Period.”M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1957.

1940's

Gaines, John Pendleton. “A Century in Florida Journalism.” M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1949.

Talbert, Samuel Stubbs. “Treatment of the Presidential Campaign of 1928 by the Florida Press.” M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1947.

1930's

Sanford, Robert Meriwether. “The Literary Elements in the Florida Newspapers of the Civil War Period.” M.A. Thesis, University of Florida, 1936.

Harrison Reed: Carpetbag Conservative (Zane H. Leeper)

Florida Goes Dry: The Final Stages of the Prohibition Movement in Florida as Seen in Several of the Major Newspapers (Jack O’Rourke)

A History of the Nassau Daily Tribune (Vernon Darville)

Newspaper Editorial Reaction in Florida to the Zimmerman Telegram (Robert B. Larson)

The Hollywood Magazine: Anatomy of a Failure (Paul W. Sullivan)

Note: Extra matter bound in back of this volume:

Coverage of Fla. Press Assoc. Conventions (1946-1951)

FPA Presidents Biographies: George Laurence Burr, Jr., Fred C. Fitzgerald, R.H. Berg, Thomas A. Leonard, Carl Hanton, A.P. Cook

Charts/Graphs of Florida newspaper and magazines in existence during various dates between 1950 and 1970.

An Analysis of Florida Press Coverage of Senator Joseph R. McCarthy, July 15th to August 15th 1954 (Colleen Birch)

The Florida Metropolis and the Florida Times Union: Five Days News Before and After the Lusitania Incident (Annie J. Alfaro)

A Chronological Sketch of the Sanford, Florida Newspapers from 1875 to 1953 (Michael Southward)

Florida Newspaper Coverage of the Assassination Attempt on Franklin D. Roosevelt (Larry Rigg)

Analysis of Editorial Positions of Selected Florida Newspapers During the 1901 “Flagler Divorce Bill” Controversy (Lawrence W. Green)

Florida Newspapers in the Civil War Years: A Leadership Press (Lawrence J. O’Keefe)

Florida Newspapers During the Era of Yellow Journalism (Francine Patarino)

The Press and the Jacksonville, Florida Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1888 (Marshall Breeze)

Florida’s Newspapers in the Year 1900 (author unknown)

An Analysis of Florida Newspapers During 1982 (Cathy O’Donnel)

Volume #3:

Florida Newspapers and Florida Highways: How the Press Responded to the Idea of a Highway Across the Everglades (Ken Anderson)

A Study of the Editorial Sections of Several Florida Newspapers During the Period of February 1860 to June 1861 (Jim Underhill)

A Historical View of Newspaper Women of Florida (Jean Sneed)

The Florida Press and the Reconstruction Constitution (Peggy Blanchard)

Lynching as Seen by Florida Papers in 1892 (Guy Ducharme)

Miami Newspapers from Boom to Bust: The 1920’s (Fran Snider)

Florida Journalism from January Through April, 1861 (James F. Pecora)

The Florida Band Crisis as Told in the Florida Herald and Southern Democrat (1841) (Margaret M. O’Brien)

Florida Journalism from 1895 to 1900 With Emphasis on the Citrus Industry and the Freeze of February, 1899 (Fran S. Marsh)

Three Years of Florida Territorial Journalism, 1840-1842 (Richard D. Shelton)

Florida News in 1880 (W. Bingham Stewart)

Some Florida Newspapers Cover the War With Spain (Richard William Winters)

The Nomination, Election and First Year in Office of Ulysses S. Grant as Reported by the Florida Press in 1868 and 1869 (William R. Steng, Jr.)

An Examination of the Editorial Reaction of Local and Selected Other Newspapers to the Devastation of Florida’s Lower Southeast Coast by Hurricane in 1926 (Howard J. Kernodle)

The Magic City (Miami) (author unknown)

A Study of the Editorial Pages of Six Florida Newspapers (Beverly Bethune)

Attitudes Toward the Negro in Florida Newspapers of the Reconstruction Period (Ben L. Moon)

Florida Approaches Statehood: 1843-1845 in Florida as Seen Through its Newspapers (Beverly Bethune)

Journalism of the Third Great Florida Boom (Lynn Keith)

The Penal Press in Florida 1935-1968 (Paul Ashdown)

Our chronology looks at the history of Florida newspapers, beginning in 1783 during the last days of British rule and continuing into the 21st century.

Each generation of Florida journalists has reported the news that becomes tomorrow’s history, and in the process they have created one of the most innovative newspaper states in the country.

Old yellowed newspapers and rolls of microfilm not only preserve stories about the history of Florida and the world, but they also give us insight into the people who have managed and worked for the state’s newspapers.

This chronology only scratches the surface of a very long and complex story, but hopefully it will serve as a useful reference tool for researchers and journalism historians. It is a work in progress that will hopefully be added to in the future.

We also hope this chronology serves as a reminder of the important role our state’s newspapers have played in preserving the news that becomes the first rough draft of Florida history.

-David Shedden, Library Director
Eugene Patterson Library
Poynter Institute
St. Petersburg, Florida

Although he has not updated his chronology recently, Mr. Shedden occasionally adds materials to his online bibliographylocated on the Poynter Institute web site.

This page outlines FDNL projects and provides details on the strategies being used by the University of Florida Digital Library Center to preserve Florida's newspapers. To search the digitized full page images currently available through the FDNL go here.